The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced that former legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), director of the party’s Department of International Affairs, would represent the DPP in the Hualien legislative by-election next month.
The legislative by-elections on Feb. 27 will fill the seats left vacant in Taoyuan, Hualien, Hsinchu and Chiayi counties after the legislators from those districts were elected as county commissioners in last month’s county chief elections.
Hsiao had been rumored to be the DPP’s candidate for Halien County commissioner in last month’s election, but the party later decided to throw its weight behind an independent who came third out of the three candidates.
In addition to Hsiao, the DPP line-up for the by-elections next month includes current Taoyuan County Councilor Huang Jen-chu (黃仁杼) for the legislative spot in that county. Former lawmaker Peng Shao-chin (彭紹瑾) will vie for the Hsinchu County seat and former Chiayi County commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) hopes to be the next legislator for the southern county.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said the four nominees were chosen for their expertise in international affairs, legal knowledge and past political achievements.
The party has also been gearing up for tomorrow’s legislative by-election.
At a rally for Kuo Jung-tsung (郭榮宗), the DPP’s candidate in Taoyuan County’s second district, DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), urged voters to use their ballots to end the practice of vote-buying, which he said was a tactic frequently used by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Su said the Taoyuan County post was left vacant because the KMT’s Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井), who had been elected to the position, was found guilty of vote-buying.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan